October Principal’s Letter
October 2009
Dear MSJ Community,
If you come to my fifth period course in Apologetics, you will discover that a cross-section of MSJ students are engaged in intense discussions about some of the key issues of our time and of our Faith. What is the nature of God? What is the problem of evil? Is hell other people? (I know, that last question might have taken you by surprise.) I find my students particularly adept at constructive dialogue. And I am filled with hope that the dialogue around the seminar table is producing interior reflection and personal change.
In the last few days, we have considered the problem of evil – What is evil? Why does evil exist in the world? How can evil be confronted? Part of our time on the subject has included the reading of the play The White Rose which, in part, is based on the book of the same name by Inge Scholl. The White Rose is a true story of real people in real times confronting the banality of evil. In The White Rose one of the key characters, Sophie Scholl, confronts the problem of evil head-on. She and some of her closest friends are in prison for confronting the tyranny of their own time and, thus, face significant choices ahead of them. In particular, Sophie resists the temptation to capitulate in the face of evil and to sacrifice principles for the sake of survival. She discovers the difference between surviving and living. Her words to an apathetic jailer insist that real living is not just about getting from one place to the next; it is about standing for that which is, in essence, right, good and just.
The White Rose is about a group of young college students at the University of Munich in the 1940’s who understand that someone has to speak up in the face of the menacing darkness of their era. They understand that evil persists not because of the strength of its perpetrators, but by the silence of untold bystanders. Evil is nurtured by the apathy of the many silent observers seeking to justify silence for the sake of comfort, fortune or convenience. Sophie and her friends understand the prophetic words of St. Catherine of Siena: “Speak the truth as if you had a million voices; it is silence that kills the world.”
At one point in the play, Sophie responds to the apathy of those who have incarcerated her and her friends with these words: “. . . The real damage is done by those who want to ‘survive’. . . Those for whom passion, truth, freedom, honor, principles are only literature. Those for whom everything is ‘relative’, the excuse of the man with no values. Those who have no absolutes.” Sophie makes clear that truly living life is about standing for that which is right and just, even when others do not understand.
In our own school and in our own time, do we have Sophie’s strength? Do we have the strength to confront the bigotry and intolerance that is in our midst? Are we willing to stand on principle and to root out bigotry in any form? Are we committed to help one another create a community where respect for the dignity and worth of others are hallmarks of who we are?
Intolerance exists at MSJ. Lack of respect for people based on differences of ethnicity, race, sexuality and so forth exist at MSJ. However, given the philosophical and theological framework of our school, attitudes and behaviors that violate the dignity and worth of others must be confronted. In the coming days, weeks and months the students, faculty, staff, parents, Board members and others will be invited to develop positive, constructive strategies for addressing the challenges of intolerance in our community.
Since, as our Mission Statement claims, we are a community that seeks “to create a just world”, it is imperative that we act decisively in addressing this problem. More important, as Sophie Scholl says in The White Rose, “It’s the right thing to do!”
I welcome your thoughts and constructive input.
Peace and all good,
Paolo E. Zancanaro, MA
Principal
